Olympic athletes who exhibit mild symptoms of Covid-19 in Tokyo could be isolated in hundreds of hotel rooms near the Athletes’ Village. Participants and staff members who don’t need to be hospitalized would fall under this category.
Organizers are preemptively working to secure 300 rooms in a hotel, reported Japanese news agency Kyodo. The reports arrive in the run-up to the Olympics kick off on July 23, despite 80 per cent of Japanese respondents preferring a different option: either canceling or postponing of the event.
After consulting with experts, we’ve decided to implement the measures in Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa considering that the number of new cases is increasing and there is a concern that medical resources would be stretched thin
Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan
Fans from countries outside Japan have been banned from attending the event, but the Olympics and Paralympics will still welcome approximately 15,00 athletes from 200 nations and territories, according to the Associate Press. The maximum capacity for the Olympics venues have not yet been revealed.
According to the Japan Times, stricter Covid-19 measures, including a potential 8pm curfew for food and beverage establishments, are being applied in Tokyo, Kyota and Okinawa. Those who don’t comply with the early closure orders could receive a fine of up to ¥200,000 (1,500 euros) fine.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga approved tighter restrictions in the face of variant strains of the virus that could wreak havoc on society. The Japan Times reported that the country would begin administering the Pfizer vaccine to elderly citizens, the secondary priority group after medical personnel, in the first days of May
